For this journey we splurged and got the expensive tickets. Our seats were plush and comfortable. We settled in, took some pills to sleep, and some "herbal" medicine that the pharmacist gave us (for what, we don't know). At one point my backpack decided to make my life miserable and turn over and fall in the aisle spreading my things everywhere. I didnt have on my glasses or contacts. So I had to CRAWL around in the aisle collecting my belongings. And then, the door in front of me opened, hit my head, and I was greeted by the stewardess who asked me why I put my things in the aisle. Like I would actually spread my things in the aisle...
We arrived in a very COLD Cusco at 5 am and headed to the Casa Andina San Blas Hotel that I was staying at with Eric. Thank the Lord that they had a room ready. We grabbed breakfast which was 18 American dollars, I almost died from the price, and then I stuffed some tea packets and rolls in my pockets for good measure. Later, I took a nap while Kari went to her hostel. Then I took a bath and met her for lunch at a cute trattoria in the center. Walking 3 blocks in the narrow windy streets, I was reminded of Siena, Italy, and I was also reminded that I should have brought my inhaler because I couldn't breathe in the high altitude. A few hours after, I met up with Eric (yay!) and I introduced him to Peru. We grabbed dinner at the same place I had lunch. Haha...it was really good...
First is the cathedral. It is fairly typical, and by typical I mean beautiful. As are all cathedrals. This one had a few interesting things. For instance, mirrors near the alter. Apparantly mirrors were frightening several centuries ago. It was unreal to see a reflection, and this fear drove the churchgoers attention away from the walls and towards the center at the alter. They should try that in elementary schools I've decided. Also, a cross, in the choral seating, given to the cathedral by the Vatican. And finally, a "Black Jesus", patron of earthquakes.
Now let me tell you about the Incas...
The Inca people began as a tribe in the 12th century and formed their capital in Cusco, which means center or naval. Technically speaking, the term Inca people is incorrect. Inca, in Quechua (the official language) means king. On my journey to Machu Picchu, I learned that it is correct to refer to the people of that time as the Quechua people, who were ruled by the Incas/kings. So...under the leadership of Manco Capac, they formed their city state in the form of one of their 3 sacred animals---puma, condor, and snake. Cuzco was, and still is despite its growth, in the shape of a puma.
At the head of the puma is Saqsaywaman (not pronounced sexy woman but similar sock-sigh-wah-mon...you can laugh here), a site at 14,000 feet which overlooks Cuzco. Saqsaywaman serves as the teeth of the head. The day I went was pretty cold and drizzly, because its always appropriate to have bad weather when you are outside all day, but it was a great start to all of the historical sites that we saw that day. At this site, I learned several things, including Pope John Paul II's visit there, the methodology of Inca structures, etc. Another interesting note is a miniature version of the Christ the Redeemer statue next to Saqsaywaman. It was given to Cuzco in the 20th century by a group from Pakistan who wanted to thank the city for its hospitality.
It has been said that Sacsayhuaman included a Sun Temple. So, it would have been used as a ritual site, which seems natural considering the layout of the rocks are to highlight the rising and setting of the sun. There is a large open area where llamas roam, and it can hold thousands of people. If I had been able to, I would have returned to this exact site during the solstice (winter for Peru, summer in the US). Peruvians celebrate Inti Raymi, the annual Inca festival of the winter solstice and new year in this big field.
The site is a set of stones in three tiers, each one taller than the one in front of it. The stones used are said to be the largest used in any prehispanic America. It is a display of the precise cut and fitting of each rock which has never been matched in all of the Americas. The combination of interlocking shapes between completely unique stones, the rounded corners of the stones, and the trapezoidal shape and leaning in of the walls have enabled this site, and every other Inca site, to withstand devestating earthquakes in Cusco whereas the Spanish structures have been damaged or destroyed.
After Sacsayhuaman, we drove to Q'engo and later Puka Pukara, a road control system. Then we crossed the road and walked 10 minutes to Tambomachay, Baths of the Princesses. It was a place where the Incas lodged. Here there is a small spring that was being channeled through rocks. The water is from a mountain spring and has never stopped flowing. Seeing natural running water is an opportunity for each guide to bring up "Peru Tummy", my name for it. She told us that drinking from the natural water would result in a never ending battle with diarrhea. I however, knew this, (not from experience...gross) and laughed when everyone else was shocked by it.
On Saturday morning, Eric and I met up with a group that we would ride around with that day. It was mostly families or couples, all intent on buying articles of clothing with llamas on them whereas Eric and I were focused on bathroom locations during the day. Driving along, we stopped and played with some llamas, took pictures, and entered the Sacred Valley, a valley carved out by the Urubamba River. I was thrilled at this point. The mountains here were full of terraces. Terraces served two purposes: the first to create more arable land and the second to provide erosion control. I still don't understand how they were able to climb into the mountains and create them. 
On to the ruins of Pisaq...that we didn't get to see... Rather than climbing the ruins, we had one hour to wander around a huge market where I didnt buy anything. I was proud of my willpower. I did however try to haggle with a 7 year old just for fun over a piece of silver. Then we continued through the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Through Chinchero,Yucay, Marcabamba, Yanahuara, and Urubamba. We stopped for lunch in Urubamba, sereneded once again by a Peruvian flute player. Urubamba, I found out, is the capital of the Sacred Valley. It is also the corn capital of the world. This is crazy considering Peru is also the potato capital of the world, with over 8,000 varieties of potatoes. Hard to believe, but go to Peru, eat some traditional meals, and you will believe it.
The last stop of Saturday was Ollantaytambo, a small village and an Inca archaeological site with a set of terraces 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco. First, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti, and later it acted as a fortress to fend off the Spanish forces in the 1600s. It was here that our guide began telling us more of the history of the Incas...from rattling off the names of the kings and teaching us about the chakana (more on that later), she always managed to throw in her bitterness about the Spanish invasion such as:
Clara: What did the Spanish bring?
Us: Horses! Transportation!
Clara: They brought diseases...sigh...They brought malnourishment...sigh...They killed us off...
And then she let out a huge exasperated sigh, turned her head to the side, closed her eyes, and I assume cursed all Spanish people. If there had been a Spanish person in our group, she would have, without a doubt, gone off on them.
So, the chakana...an Andean symbol of the Incan civilization. It is derived from Quechua, "chakay" meaning "to cross". The chakana is a 3 stepped symmetirc cross with a hole in its center, representing Cuzco. The 3 steps represent the 3 worlds, upper, middle, and lower, existing in this culture. The upper world, Hanan Pacha includes the stars, celestial beings, and gods. The middle world, Kay Pacha, represents human life, and the lower world, Uqhu Pacha, represents death. Their thoughts on death were that you simply moved onto the next world when you died and continued growing older and bigger if you were a child. This is evident in sacrificial bodies that have been discovered. Children buried in larger clothes, larger shoes, with items that would be of use to them in their next life.
We also learned about Peruvian philosophy. The Incas had a code i life: Do not lie, do not steal, and do not sit still. Pretty simple. Everyone in the empire had a job to do. No one stole because they didn't have to. If one person needed help during a crop failure, a neighboring village or the state assisted those in need. And no one sat still because there was too much to do. Like carrying 70 ton rocks....
Add this information to this, the Inca kings:
Manco Capac
Sinchí Roca Lloque Ypanqui
Mayta Capac
Capac Yupanqui Inca Roca
Yahuar Huacac
Viracocha Inca
Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
Topa Inca
Huayna Capac
Huascar
Atahuallpa
Topa Huallpa
Manco Inca
Panaullu Inca
Try saying this fast. Really, try it.
So now I'll turn away from the history lesson and to what we actually did. First, we climbed up the ruins. At 12,000 or so feet, this was difficult, but I had the genius idea to just run up the steps and get it over with. Eric and I beat the group which gave me time to catch my breath at the top. When the rest of the group reached us, they were amazed that I was competely fine and not breathing heavy. To which I responded, "oh ya not that difficult nahhhh" (that might have been a little lie).
Walking around the top of the ruins/fortress, you can see all of Ollantaytambo and the mountains and glaciers surrounding it. In the mountain directly across from the ruins, there are two interesting shapes present. One is of an old man, hunched over. The other is a carving of one of the kings on the side of a mountain. You can see his profile. During the winter solstice, June 21, the sun lights up the kings face, and only his face. How the people managed to carve this huge figure into the mountain AND know exactly how it would line up with the sun that they revered is amazing to me.
The group walked around the original Inca streets, complete with their aqueduct water system (amazing), and we ventured into a "traditional" family's home. This home included a room full of guinea pigs where the owners supposedly slept among poop, animal skulls, dead fish on the walls, etc. Totally normal, totally traditional Incan way of life...totally normal....right?Later, the group dropped us off at our hotel (another really nice one) and we went to dinner in the Plaza. We sat outside and had pizza and chicken and beer and fed a cute dog while we watched two three year olds wander around being completely cool and independent.
The next day, we met another guide, Wilfredo. He drove us an hour and a half away to Pre-inca ruins. This was my favorite thing other than Machu Picchu because it is so untouched. Wilfredo was a great guide. He got a feel for what we wanted to know and see, and he led us up to the ruins, pointing out interesting things. He even played his handmade flute he brought :) After looking at the ruins, we were able to distinguish between pre-inca and inca structures. Inca structures have corners that are very sharp with 90 degree angles whereas pre-inca structures are more rounded. Wilfredo also found two pieces of pottery laying around dating back to before the Incas, and he gave us those to keep. I have mine on display in my room.
After this, we hiked part of the Inca trail, the original path that the Incas took to get to Machu Picchu. From this site it takes 4 days to reach Machu Picchu by foot. Going across streams, native families, cows, and terraces, we hiked for about 3 hours and really loved this. Later that evening, after lunch and walking around, we waited for the train. Standing near the station, someone slapped by bum, and I turned around to find Kari! She and her brother were on the same train as us! We went on the more luxurious Inca Rail. It consisted of one car that was only 10% full, and I felt like first class in our comfortable seats and free foods and drinks. It was a pleasant two hour journey along the river through the mountains to reach Aguas Calientes, or Machu Picchu Village as some know it.
In Machu Picchu village, we got off at the ridiculously crowded station and started to exit. Upon our exit, there was a group of locals holding up signs with names on them. Eric said, "I really hope one of those isnt for me." but sure enough, there it was, plain as day, ERIC BEARDEN. So, with one Peruvian and one sign in tow, the four of us followed him the whole 1 block of MP village to the 5 star El Mapi Hotel. It was very modern and sleek, too bad we only stayed there for 8 hours. The four of us got dinner together and were serenaded by a Peruvian band playing flutes along to songs similar to that of a Mariachi band or something you would find in Cuba. Talk about confusion...
So with songs that Ricky Ricardo would sing stuck in our heads, I went back to sleep for 5 hours, dreaming of tequila, cuban cigars, and the 330 wake up call we had the next day to go to Machu Picchu...
Since I already wrote about MP, I'll skip to the end. Tuesday night, Eric and I caught the 10 hour bus ride back to Arequipa. Sitting on the second floor of Cruz del Sur, I met two people across the aisle from me. I knew they looked familiar, and it turns out that they were at the top of Huiana Picchu at the same time as me the day before. Now we are bonded for life. And Bose is my new friend!
So, after riding along, Eric asleep behind me, I went to the bathroom around 3 am where the bus stewardess lady was waiting for me right outside the door to inform me, in spanish, that the bathrooms were for urinating only. To which I responded "que?????" to point out that she was ridiculous for standing there to tell me that. And she answered back again, in spanish, that the bathroom was for urinating only. I am SO glad I know how to say that in spanish now.
6 am and we arrive in Arequipa. I was happy to be home and really excited to show Eric where I lived. We napped, and I was still dreaming of flutes, mariachi bands, Ricky Ricardo, Machu Picchu, jungle men, and stairs...
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